Free basics ad may have given rivals free ride

Facebook didn't get the tone of its extensive Free Basics campaign right, said brand consultants and advertising veterans.

The social media company failed to gain enough public support, win over the government or convince the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), which ruled against discriminatory pricing for data services on Monday, effectively shutting down the initiative.

"It's fair to say it was a mishandled campaign for a company that's trying to launch a new initiative," said Futurebrands India CEO Santosh Desai. "It was a naked show of muscle power. Also, the campaign didn't fit with their alleged intention at all."

The campaign was accused of seeking to manipulate opinion, with Trai publicly expressing displeasure over a Facebook survey that purported to show widespread public support for Free Basics.

It may have been a better idea to show that Facebook was working in collaboration with the government's objectives instead, the experts said.

The campaign was too "in your face," said brand expert Harish Bijoor. "Bureaucrats' political masters are a voter sensitive audience," he said. The Narendra Modi government has been at pains to distance itself from allegations of crony capitalism, he pointed out. It was surprising that Facebook seemed to get this wrong.

Industry sources say Facebook had earmarked upwards of Rs 150 crore for the Free Basics campaign. By November last year, the company had spent around Rs 25-30 crore on print, digital and outdoor campaigns, according to media agency sources, including ads in this paper. It may have spent about Rs 50 crore on the Free Basics advertising campaign until this week, they said.

"I think the campaign missed a trick or two," said Sam Balsara, chairman of Madison World. "While the campaign or its aggressive nature cannot be the only reason behind Trai's decision, I think Indians didn't relate to it so well." MG Parameswaran, former executive director of FCB Ulka, said Facebook should have employed more subtle methods.

"They should have reached out to influential bloggers and used social media more effectively to explain what it actually meant," he said.

Some experts pointed to the manner in which overseas companies such as Uber and Nestle have sought to deal with difficult situations in India.

The taxi aggregator has had to deal with the fallout of a passenger being raped in an Uber cab and hostile scrutiny of the way in which it does business.